Despite this, however, the Democrats lost a net of nine seats in the House to the Republicans, in part due to redistricting following the 1990 Census. The Democrats nonetheless retained a majority in the House and Senate.

The delegation increased from 45 to 52 seats. To create the seven-seat net gain, eight seats were added, designated as: the 10th, 11th, 25th, 33rd, 41st, 43rd, 49th, and 50th districts, and one seat was lost through the merger of two seats: the former 41st and 44th districts merged into the redesignated 51st district, in an election contest.

North Dakota's house race occurred concurrently with both an ordinary senate race and a special election to the senate to replace appointee Jocelyn Burdick. The incumbent in the first senate race, Kent Conrad, ran in the special election and won; he switched seats in the senate on December 15. Democratic representative Byron Dorgan, therefore, who had won the first senate race, resigned from the house on December 15 to fill the newly vacated senate seat; as such, North Dakota's house seat remained vacant for 19 days, until Earl Pomeroy was sworn in on January 3.